Page 94 of Intercept My Heart

“Yeah, I know what it’s like, and I don’t miss it. That’s why I moved further out of the city because I got tired of having my picture taken whenever I went out. Those paparazzi don’t have any respect at all.”

“Who are you telling? They are still harassing Tyla after our split. She reached out to me the other day because some paparazzi jumped in front of her car to ask if we were going to get back together. Shit is wild out here. This will be my last year playing, and I’m praying they leave my ass alone. I’m trying to settle down and stay off the grid.”

“Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“I’m serious. I’m tryna be like you. Settled down with my woman and have a few kids.” Again, I failed to correct him. There was no point because even if we weren’t together, Sunny was off-limits to anyone. I would allow them to think whatever they wanted. It would be better than them playing with their lives. Besides, I would be making her mine sooner rather than later.

We chopped it up for a while, and Montez introduced me to a few people. I was familiar with many of the players from playing against them, but I’d never interacted with very many of them on a personal level. The twins were doing an interview with a sports magazine, so Charae accompanied them. Even though she was supposed to be relaxed, mom mode never had a cutoff time.

After the meet-and-greet, they had a couple of scrimmage games with the high school players. One of the teams was down a player due to an unexpected injury, so Montez asked if Moolah could sub for them. At first, I was hesitant because he had never played against players that much older than him, but Moolah practically begged me to let him in. Meanwhile, Cash ended up playing on the middle school team.

I used to think there was no better feeling than playing on the field and winning. However, watching my seeds dominant in the sport I loved was the most incredible feeling in my life. Cash played solid on defense, and the coaches were very impressed. Of course, he remained humble as they raved over his performance. When it came time for Moolah to play, I’d admit my anxiety spiked. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was playing against older players. It was the fact that they would look at him as a threat, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to remain professional if someone did something to my son.

Dreis, Montez, and I stood on the sidelines as we watched the game. In the first quarter, they did everything they could not to pass Moolah the ball, and as a result, they hadn’t scored asingle point. I didn’t want to be the parent who overstepped and argued with the coach about his calls, but what was the point of having him as a sub if they weren’t going to utilize him?

“They don’t even know what they’ve got out there. Moolah could run circles around all of those niggas,” Dreis vented, expressing the same sentiments I was feeling.

“Yeah, I’m about to go talk to the coach. They keep passing it to number sixteen, and his ass acts like he’s afraid of the ball,” I complained.

“Don’t even worry about it. I’m about to holler at him. His son is number sixteen, but I made it clear that if his son wasn’t coming with his A game, then he might as well not even play him. People want to see a good game, and we’re trying to showcase what these boys can really do,” Montez expressed. I nodded in agreement as he walked off. They called for a timeout, and the players walked over to the sidelines.

“Moolah! Come here.” My son was pissed off, and it was all over his face.

“This is some bull—” I dared him to finish his sentence as the two of us held eye contact.

“Look, you have every right to be upset, but you have to understand that these people don’t know you. They don’t know what a beast you are on the field. All they see is your age, and they assume you aren’t capable of holding your own.”

“That’s not fair. Why put me out there if they aren’t gonna give me the opportunity to run the ball?” My hands rested on his shoulders, and I looked my son square in his eyes.

“Prove them wrong. Don’t even wait for them to pass you the ball. Go after that shit. You already know they are gonna try to pass it to the coach’s son, so make sure you’re right there to intercept that shit if you have to. Let them know they have a mothafuckin big dawg on that field, and they need to recognizeit. We’re Suttons, and we don’t ask for a damn thing; we take that shit. You hear me?”

He nodded. “Hell yeah. I hear you, Pops. I’m on it.”

I was so stunned by him calling me Pops that I lost my train of thought. I tapped him on his helmet, and he raced back to the huddle. As men, we are taught to hold our feelings in, but hearing Moolah acknowledge me as his father brought so many different emotions out of me. We’d come a long way since we first met, and I finally felt like we were bonding like father and son.

Moolah moved his neck from side to side, and I noticed the shift in him. My son was a mothafuckin beast out there, and he was about to show them what he was made of.

“Our boy is about to get active,” Dreis declared.

“You already know.” I grinned with pride. My son had no fear in his heart, and it was one of the things I loved about him the most. He took on everything with the mindset that he was going to conquer it.

When the referee blew the whistle, and the clock started back up, I tuned out everyone around me. My boy got in position, and although I had no idea what they were saying on the field, I knew Moolah well enough to know he was probably shit-talking.

“I think the QB is about to try to run the ball himself.” Dreis’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Yeah, and he isn’t gonna make it very far.”

“Yikes. That hit had to hurt.” Dreis hissed after the QB got tackled. I saw it coming a mile away. The opposing team had begun to predict their plays because they kept running the same ones. It was crazy the coach couldn’t see that. If they would switch things up, they might actually score. I shook my head in disbelief. On the next play, I watched the QB before focusing my attention back on Moolah. They were getting ready to try to pass the ball to the coach’s son again, and I hoped Moolahunderstood the assignment. Since they weren’t gonna give it to him, he would have to take it.

The QB caught the ball and planted his feet into the turf as he attempted to pass it to number sixteen. On the right side of him, I saw my boy leap into the air, catching the ball in his hands before landing on his feet. Without a second glance back, Moolah took off like a bat out of hell with the ball tucked in his arms.

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Hell yeah! Show out, nephew!” Dreis roared as Moolah gained yard after yard. The defense was ready to pile on the other player, so it took too long to figure out what was going on, giving Moolah the advantage. I couldn’t contain my excitement, watching my son shake the defense before crossing over that white line to make a touchdown. I almost wanted to run out on the field because of how proud I was.

His team cheered, but he paid them dust. His finger pointed toward me before hitting his chest. There were no words to express my feelings at that moment. The next play went much like the one previously. The QB attempted another pass, and my boy swept right in and made another touchdown. You would have thought the coach would be happy, but he was cussing on the sidelines. When he called for a timeout, I moved a little closer to hear what he had to say. I didn’t give a fuck if this was supposed to be a peaceful event; behind my kids, anybody could get their ass handed to them.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m the one calling the plays. All of you must have gotten confused about who the coach was. I want you to run the play I called out, and Landon, make sure my son gets the ball. Josh, you better get your head in the game. There is no way we’re gonna let a little kid show you out on that field,” the coach spat. My fists were clenched, ready to show my ass on this field.

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